Attack after attack, cross after cross, shot after shot, the Northwestern men’s soccer team was dominating the Western Illinois Leathernecks on Thursday and showing that they weren’t ready to hang up their cleats.
The onslaught from the Wildcats finally led to a well-deserved goal from senior Nick Gendron in the 63rd minute, and they were able to hold on at Lakeside Field for a 1-0 final and their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2009.
Right from the start, the ‘Cats relentlessly attacked the Western Illinois defense, with Gendron sending in crosses that led to dangerous opportunities. Just six minutes in, freshman Joey Calistri was able to settle a Gendron cross on the right side of the box and shoot it off of the left post and out.
They continued to fire shots on goal, first with senior Chris Ritter connecting on a header off of a corner kick right at the Leatherneck goalkeeper, Yves Dietrich. Minutes later, junior Lepe Seetane picked off a pass and led a counterattack that resulted in a Calistri shot right into the hands of Dietrich. At halftime, the ‘Cats were leading 10-0 in shots, but still couldn’t find the advantage where it really mattered.
Out of the break, Western Illinois came out with more energy than they had shown in the entire first half, forcing Wildcat sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Miller to make his first save of the night. The Leathernecks tried to connect with their star striker Nathan Bruinsma, who had six goals in his last five matches, but the Wildcat back line would not give him any space, and his best opportunity came on a header early in the half that sailed high and left of the goal.
The Wildcats responded to the tempo change by beginning to dominate once again. Calistri found open space just outside the box and ripped a shot right at Dietrich. It bounced off of the keeper’s chest, but he was eventually able to secure it.
Then, after 62 minutes of continuous attack, the ‘Cats found the breakthrough that they were searching for. Freshman substitute Henry Herrill was given a through ball down the left sideline, and he chased it down and sent in a cross. It found a wide open Nick Gendron, who settled it ten yards out and calmly slid it past a helpless Dietrich off the right post and in.
“Henry made a great play to get that ball, whipped a good service in, and I was a little bit surprised with how much time I had,” Gendron said. “(I) just looked up, had no one around me and fired a shot.”
The ‘Cats didn’t let up after the one goal. Instead, they kept pushing to try to find an insurance goal and a comfortable 2-0 lead. Junior Scott Lakin whipped in a cross that found the head of senior Kyle Schickel. His header was just barely tipped away by the quick hands of Dietrich, whose work was not done there. Minutes later, freshman Cole Missimo was delivered a beautiful through ball that gave him a breakaway, but once again, Dietrich was there to block it.
The Leathernecks kept on fighting, but it was just too late. As the clock ran down, their last feverish attempt went wide right, setting off the celebration for the Wildcats.
All in all, the Wildcats had 19 shots to only 7 for Western Illinois, and a well-earned one-goal victory.
“It doesn’t matter in this game of soccer whether you have possession of the ball 75, 80 percent of the time, because they’re one play from tying the game up,” head coach Tim Lenahan said. “We got one goal in 19 shots. That’s not going to set any records for offensive efficiency, but we got the goal, and that’s really all that matters.”
Much of that credit goes to the seniors. Jarrett Baughman was solid in the back, Ritter broke up countless attacks in the midfield, Kyle Schickel had three shots on goal and Gendron put it in the back of the net.
“This time of the year, coach always says that as the seniors go, so goes the team,” Gendron said. “So it’s up to us. We’ve been here, we know what it’s like during this time. It’s a big grind. It’s been a long season, and you need your older guys, your veterans, to step up.”
The team's happiness was palpable after the game. After having the good fortune of being able to play in the tournament, the players were proud of their performance in extending their season, and the oft-serious Coach Lenahan was more than happy to crack a few jokes.
“These guys don’t care about my Tums that I need on the sideline when it’s 1-0. In fact, I think sometimes they do it on purpose. The only time we have two-goal leads, they become one-goal leads just so they can make me nervous,” he said. “We played great. I would’ve liked to have had a couple more goals, but there’s a lot of things I’d like in life. We’ll take an NCAA Tournament win any day of the week.”
And with this win, the Wildcats move on to play No. 7 seed Marquette on Sunday in Milwaukee.
Wildcats wear down Western Illinois, advance to NCAA second round